Take Off Your Pants and Jacket is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blink-182, released on June 12, 2001, by MCA Records. Nearly a decade deep in their career, Blink-182 had reached mainstream, multiplatinum heights with their previous album, Enema of the State (1999). The trio-guitarist Tom DeLonge, bassist Mark Hoppus, and drummer Travis Barker-became worldwide stars and MTV staples, with their goofy, boy-band image cementing their place in pop culture. The band continued its partnership with producer Jerry Finn to record the majority of the album in their hometown of San Diego. Its title is a double entendre ("take off your pants and jack it").
Mark Hoppus – bass, vocals Tom DeLonge – guitars, vocals Travis Barker – drums Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – keyboards
album notes
Barker also proposed being promoted to official partner in the band; prior to 2001, he had been considered a touring musician only, and while he had arranged the songs on Enema, he received no publishing residuals. Hoppus and DeLonge obliged – they wanted his input on songwriting.
Barker recorded his drum parts in "two or three days" while DeLonge and Hoppus watched television upstairs. Barker recorded the songs from memory with no scratch tracks, largely in one take; Take Off was the first time he enabled a click track while recording to ensure timing.
Barker had technician Mike Fasano sit in and complete the drum tuning because he disliked waiting for Finn and his team. It was the last Blink album recorded on analogue tape; their next effort involved the emerging Pro Tools software.
Barker used a variety of snare drums in his process, which he tuned tightly to his liking; the album uses brands like Ludwig Coliseum and Brady, and many came from Orange County Drum and Percussion. He liked using different snares to match what he felt the song required. To that end, the team rented a Tama snare called "Big Red" that Guns N' Roses used to make "November Rain".
